For its Spring / Summer 2019 collection, the Italian sportswear label took to the court at Pitti Uomo tapping Alexander Zverev to be the face of the brand.

The clean, minimal silhouettes of tennis uniforms make the ringer tees, polo shirts and tennis skirts an appealing inspiration for fashion. American Vogue editor Anna Wintour is an avid player, and several brands that began as tennis outfitters—Bjorn Borg and Lacoste are among them—have spun into full-fledged sportswear fashion labels. Mary Katrantzou recently worked with Adidas to create a prints-filled tennis wear collection and just last yeah Thom Browne made a tennis-inspired capsule collection. Now, at Pitti Uomo, this week, Z Zegna has stepped onto the court. The more youthful, sportier, and performance-meets-tailoring younger brother to the Italian fashion label Ermenegildo Zegna displayed its namesake family’s love of tennis by recreating a tennis court at Pitti Uomo for its Spring / Summer 2019 collection. The imaginary scoreboard read 0-0 for a match between tennis up and comer Alexander Zverev versus Corrado Barazzutti. While there were no balls flying around, Z Zegna did build stadium seats so that visitors could get in on the action.

For the collection, Z Zegna culled the signature elements of the tennis uniform, adding its own uniquely Z Zegna twists—finely stitched warm-up jackets can go from the court to the a night on the town, sweatpants look like finely tailored knits, and the tennis shoes look like they would be just as comfortable on and off the court.

The most impressive part of Z Zegna’s Pitti presentation is the TECHMERINOTM Wash & Go wardrobe. What started out as a collection of suits that one could wash and dry quickly made from TECHMERINOTM wool. Simply stick the items into a special pouch, wash, and it can be hung out to dry. That helps avoid trips to the dry cleaner to have them dry clean and press your clothes. The Wash & Go wardrobe expanded to include warm-up jackets and field coats.

For those who are curious about the tennis match—Zverev wins. 

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